Wojtek Pawlusiak is a Polish rail ripper you can hardly ignore anymore. Along the way he seems to not have lost any curiosity about what’s possible when trying to slide down handrails. In this feature we will dig a little into his childhood memories, extending our snowboarding horizons to the east and finding out why we are lucky to have Wojtek on one plank instead of two...
What does "Gniazdo" mean? I Googled it, but still I’m not any wiser as to what it means than before.
Gniazdo is my nickname and it literally means "bird's nest" in Polish. It's a long story behind my nickname. When I was ski jumping I was the only one with long hair. I grew up among the stubborn Polish highlanders and they were a bit harsh. They found my nickname really quick, :) 
With your father being a ski jumping star, you were destined to become the next aerial skiing boss of Poland. Why didn’t it work out?
Well, it all started on the hill just across the street with my grandpa. He gave me my first skis and built my first jump. I was always pushing my life in this direction but with the homies I was skateboarding and snowboarding in the winter when I had time. Basically I enjoyed the adrenaline kick that came with extreme sports. But I also loved creativity. I wanted to do a little more than just going up the ski jump hill and jumping down. The other thing was a little misunderstanding with my coach, but you don't want to hear about that :)
Ironically you don’t seem to hit many big jumps with your snowboard. Are you trying to stay closer to the ground because watching your pops get that mega airtime freaked you out as a kid?
Hmm, that is not the reason. I started riding street just because my snowboarding started in a place without decent parks, so I ended up in the streets. It's a great feeling to hit jumps and I will definetely start pushing my career more in that direction. I really want to start slaying some pow and blasting some mega pow booters. That is my big dream!
Is your family proud of you finding your own way on the snow?
Of course, they support me completely and I'm really thankful for that. Without them I probably would have stopped snowboarding before I even got started. I'm sure my dad is proud, watching me from up there! We will meet again one day...
When did you first have a snowboard under your feet? Can you find words to describe the excitment of this moment? How about the clothes you were rocking back then in the early days?
Haha, it was actually a long time ago. Before I started freestyle snowboarding I was just cruising on my cousin's lift in Zakopane but the person who put me on a snowboard for the first time was Stefan Hula (Polish team ski jumper ). Because of him and his cousin Damian I started snowboarding. It was so fun jumping off every bump, hitting funny features and riding everywhere, not just on the piste. I didn't know anything about proper snowboard gear, so I was wearing what I had, my ski jump team jacket and pants (not the ski jumping suit). When I saw real snowboarders for the first time I thought what the hell are those guys doing in their baggy clothes, they were like midgets wearing potato sacks, :)
I imagine snowboarding in Poland back in the days was pure wild style. No parks, no scene, just you and your board trying to get gnarly. Was it as romantic as it sounds to me right now?
Exactly, there was nothing besides pure fun with your friends!
Who were your biggest influences in snowboarding? Any Polish heroes before you?
To be honest I didn't have a Polish snowboard hero, I didn't even know the scene when I strapped in for the first time. My first snowboard hero was the "real" Jeremy Jones. (Ed. note: the street Jeremy, not Big Mountain JJ.)
When did you start riding rails? Did you learn on sketchy old street rails? We hear there was a fridge in East Germany that you turned into your laboratory and helped you become the mad scientist you are today.
Well, that's true. I first started riding on really sketchy flat rails just outside our apartment in Zakopane. We had prepared a little jump to flat. We hit this jump only when there was a lot of snow because there was no landing. The second feature was a flat rail and we were seriously struggling to stick the whole thing. Then I started riding rails in Katowice with my friends Kuba and Radek during my high school days, but school didn't really work out so I moved back to my hometown and rode the whole winter in what was the snowpark at the time in Szczyrk. These days the same snowpark is supported by sponsors, but it seems to be worse than 10 years ago, so whack! I went a couple of times to the Senftenberg fridge for Tropcamp. It was fun to meet so many different people with different styles and shred with them. Actually, the first board I ever got from Burton was stolen there!
Can you tell us about cool things happening in the Polish snowboarding scene right now? Parks, brands, crews, shout outs?
The Polish snowboard scene is actually developing crazy fast right now. We have a really cool Burton snowpark in Bialka, which is shaped by the Park Pirates and those guys are doing a hell of a good job. They keep changing set-ups, building creative features and making cool lines, it's fun to shred there! There 's also a new brand on the market from Poland called Stench Snowboards. They have really cool graphics and the guys are creating a fun atmosphere around whatever they are involved with.
Who are your favorite buddies to shred with nowadays?
I was mostly shreding with Kuba Szkaradek and Pawel Guzik before he broke his collarbone, it's fun to hang out with these boys. But this year I have spent the most time with Archie, my friend and filmer, shooting for the new Isenseven project. I've spent almost three months on the road with him. 
Can you tell us a little about your filming trips this season? Where have you been and where are the best rails?
I was traveling and filming a lot this season. It started pretty early, we went for our first trip a week before Christmas. We went to the Czech Republic and it was a cool warm up before the real filming missions. I was trying to take advantage of every free day between X-mas and New Year's Eve to ride. In the begining of January, me and Archie went to Sundsval, Sweden for our first proper rail mission. It was a blast, but Ludde got injured the first day and we were kinda bummed. Fortunately, Zebbe decided to stay with us and when he left some Aussies came down with Chriso McAlpine, so we had another crew to hang out and film with. After two weeks in Sweden we came back to Poland and started shredding the local spots. We had a close look at spots we've done in the past and tried to approach them with fresh ideas. There was also a two-week trip to Helsinki with Ludde and Zebbe. I'm super happy about this winter in Poland because it's April and we are still filming in Szczyrk and Zakopane.
You said your boards got stolen in Czech. What is your best guess where they are or who is riding them right now?
Haha, these boards were almost too wrecked to repair so I don't think somebody is actually using them right now, but if they are being ridden, I hope it's a kid and he will grow up to become something more than just a thief.
It seems like you've already logged enough footage for 2 full parts just this season. Can we expect another ender part in the upcoming Isenseven movie?
Well, I'm still stackin' footy. I don't wanna answer this question, but I'm hoping for another ender part, :)